Many people wearing dentures today are unaware of the advantages of using a denture adhesive to better adhere their dentures to their gums. One way to demonstrate to a dentist or to a consumer the advantages of using a denture adhesive is to use what is referred to as a gnathodynamometer or a bite force gauge. A bite force gauge measures the amount of force exerted by the patient when they are biting down with their dentures. The bite force gauge can then be used to demonstrate the force at which it takes dentures to dislodge or slip when a denture adhesive is not being used and the force at which it takes dentures to slip when a denture adhesive is being used. Because the force at which the dentures slip will be much higher when a denture adhesive is used, the patient or dentist will quickly realize the benefits of using a denture adhesive. Therefore, gnathodynamometers are helpful for demonstrating the need for using denture adhesives.
However, many of the gnathodynamometers used in the past have been expensive machines having electrical devices and the like and are generally permanent in nature, therefore requiring the device to be sterilized between patients. This has been a large disadvantage in the commercialization of denture adhesives in that the manufacturers of denture adhesives are unwilling to give such expensive devices to dentists and the dentist is unwilling to go through the time and expense of sterilizing the device between each of his patients in order to show them the benefit of using a denture adhesive. In addition, the use of electrical strain gauges and the like require calibration and other expertise not readily available to a practicing Dentist. There has therefore been a need to provide a low cost gnathodynamometer which is easy to use, portable, and can be disposable.